India is no longer the world’s massive outsourcing hub; it is now strongly attracting IT talent from the United States, along with unprecedented investment from giants like Microsoft and Intel.
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Infosys, one of the leading IT consulting firms based in Bangalore, also has a headquarters in the United States. |
Erik Simonsen holds an MBA from New York University, yet this 28-year-old master’s graduate decided to fly halfway around the world to work in India. Erik chose Copal Partners, a small tech firm near New Delhi, while declining offers from several other companies in Silicon Valley and the East Coast. Explaining his decision, Erik stated that the US market had become saturated and “stagnant,” while India was still vibrant and had “room for exploration.”
“This is an opportunity to relive the dot-com boom in the US back in the late 90s. Companies here (in India) are growing at a staggering pace,” Erik excitedly remarked.
Global Experience
Erik is not an isolated case. The number of American students and master’s graduates in fields such as science, business, and technology—those who graduated from prestigious schools and are now venturing to South Asia for work—is steadily increasing. What they seek is a new frontier and international work experience.
“Applying what has been learned has become the number one demand for American students over the past five years. India is particularly appealing due to its excellent English-speaking environment. This is somewhat different from China, where American students often face language barriers. As George Day, a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, puts it, China is like a large machine, but India is the engine.”
American universities themselves are recognizing this demand, and according to their assessments, emerging Asian markets are the most attractive. Last summer, the president of the prestigious Yale University, Richard Levin, led a team of 12 experts to India to establish partnerships with various universities there. In 2005, the number of Yale interns in India was 30, and it is projected to reach 50 next year.
The year 2006 will also see the first batch of graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – India program defending their PhD dissertations in fields of science and economics. “MIT sends students here because they recognize the global work environment in India. But more importantly, it is also about trust,” said Deepti Nijhawan, the program coordinator for India.
The New Arena for Giants
Last week, within just a few days, two American tech giants—Microsoft and Intel—made announcements that shook both sides of the ocean. An unprecedented investment will be funneled into the research and development centers of these companies in India.
Specifically, on December 7, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced that $1.7 billion would be invested in Microsoft India over the next four years. Half of this amount will be allocated to the Research and Development center in Hyderabad, Microsoft’s second-largest branch globally, after its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. According to Gates, “India has emerged as a new Mecca for high-tech investment.”
A few days earlier, Intel’s chairman Craig Barrett also announced an investment of $1.1 billion into this South Asian country. In October, networking giant Cisco Systems revealed it would invest over $1 billion in India over three years—this is the largest investment outside the United States in the company’s history.
Notably, all this funding is focused on research, innovation, and design, requiring a team of highly skilled engineers and experts, rather than the labor-intensive tasks traditionally associated with India’s outsourcing reputation.
It is not only American companies based in India that attract US engineers to research and work here; American students studying in India are also gaining professional experience within local companies. Tim Hentzel (30), an MBA student from the Wharton School, first visited India in 2004 as part of a three-week “international internship” program. Infosys, an IT and consulting services company, immediately captivated Tim, as it attracts talent and interns from all over the world. “A truly global environment,” Tim exclaimed.
Moreover, Tim was genuinely surprised by the “corporate culture” here, where interns participate in significant projects, are evaluated equally with their mentors, and can meet with company leaders at any time.
“India is at the forefront of modern technology.” Without hesitation, Tim called this the “best decision of his life.”
Future Strategy
Navi Radjou, an expert from Forrester Research, stated: “If you ask General Electric, they will say that up to 60% of the company’s future revenue will come from emerging markets like India and China. If you want to be a young person aspiring to be a big boss in the future, you better start understanding that 60% right now.”
However, to attract even more talent, India needs to improve its still underdeveloped and inconsistent infrastructure. “If you want to build a chip manufacturing plant, you need a stable power supply, and you need roads to transport the chips. And if you want to attract talent from more developed countries, you need to meet their needs for housing and high-quality schools for their children.”
Returning to Erik Simonsen’s story, he started at Copal Partners as an intern, but within just a month, Erik was promoted to Senior Vice President in charge of IT, recruitment, and management. Erik was truly ecstatic about this, saying, “I have never had such a significant responsibility in an American company—Copal expanded its staff by 300% in just six months. If this were in the US, you would definitely feel skeptical. But once you come here, you will understand.”
Thien Yi
